Distressed Investment Banking: To the Abyss and Back, 2nd Edition

This classic book, now in its second edition, is an authoritative source about the restructuring of troubled companies. It provides an insider's view on the methods and complexities of this highly specialized area of investment banking. Owsley and Kaufman are widely acknowledged leaders in this field and are the senior partners at Gordian Group, a top-tier boutique investment banking firm headquartered in New York. Gordian Group advises mid-sized companies in financial distress. They provide unconflicted advice to boards of directors interested in recoveries of shareholders.

After years of near-zero default rates due to global money printing by central banks, the world is awakening to the prospect of a new era of restructurings. Abyss demystifies what investment bankers do for a living and conveys difficult concepts in easily understandable terms. This expanded edition contains new sections on the application of option theory and game theory in addressing complex reorganizations and negotiations.

Kaufman and Owsley guide the reader through the general processes of a distressed M&A transaction, an internal financial restructuring - and, the dynamics and strategies that often affect the recoveries for any given constituency in this "zero sum game" (If someone is getting more than their fair share, then someone else is getting less). With over 70 years of experience in the field combined, the authors lead the reader into the mindset of each of the different parties involved (such as the senior lender, subordinated debtholder, and vulture investor) and explore their respective goals and game plans in a financial restructuring.

Attorneys, accountants, crisis managers, business and law students, judges, and investment bankers - as well as management and directors of distressed companies - all will find this book of interest. Abyss is the definitive work on distressed investment banking.